Minister for Justice Alan Shatter has requested that a video posted on YouTube containing anti-Semitic abuse directed at him should be taken down.

The video, which starts off with a picture of Mr Shatter and the Israeli flag, contains a string of abusive text while Jewish folk music plays in the background.

The anti-Jewish and anti- immigrant sentiments expressed echo those of neo-Nazi groups in other European countries but there is a specifically Irish context for the abuse.

It goes on to make offensive remarks about the ethnic background of international bankers along the lines of those uttered by the Nazis in the 1930s. A constant refrain in the video is abuse of immigrants and the claim that the Irish population is being replaced by newcomers. One of Mr Shatter’s officials was in contact with YouTube on Wednesday to request that the video be taken down but it was still on the site yesterday.